The Wind Stopped Blowing
by fivexfive
Summary: It doesn't matter how, and it doesn't matter why. But they were there together, and they were happy. Then she was dying. Faith/Buffy
1. The Wind Stopped Blowing

**THE WIND STOPPED BLOWING**

It's in her eyes. Drawn out, tired sad. She's done fighting. And so am I.

It's on the ground, her blood-red life force spilling into puddles. I can't help but notice that one of the puddles is in the shape of a rabbit. She likes rabbits. We were going to buy one tomorrow. But tomorrow won't come for her now.

She's here, I'm here. I'm so lost.

It's been hell getting here. It's been absolute hell staying here, but it's been worth it. So worth it. And now it seems like it's coming to an end.

We've been in this position before; we've walked this walk, danced this dance. But this time, neither of us is going to be walking away. Because I know she's going to die, and I know that the part of me that makes me who I am is going to die right here with her.

She knows it too. I can tell she knows it. It's written in the lines on her face. The hard lines creasing together in her forehead, the pain climaxing and bottoming out, and then starting back up again. Little gasps are coming from her mouth, in puffs of white mist. It's cold tonight, but she's getting colder.

I'm thinking a lot about "here". I barely even know what "here" is anymore. I guess it's in that safe haven of blissful love that two people could fall into without even knowing how or why it happened. "Here" was safe in her arms. Safe in the place I could finally call home. Home amidst the evil traipsing across Sunnydale's terrain. Home was undeniably with her.

So now that she's dying, does that mean I'm homeless? Am I just going to be one of those crazy bag ladies, bumming around town, getting eaten by vampires in the dead of night? Am I going to feed on rats and crumbs to survive? Doubtful, because without her I know I'm dead already.

I can feel it in our Slayer bond. The taut familiar tingles creeping up my neck I normally feel when she's close are quickly becoming nothing more than a numb sensation, like a dull ache of a phantom limb. I start to cry.

"Baby?" I question. I push a lock of her hair behind her ear, as though it really makes a difference. I'm sure other things are bothering her more right now. Her eyes are closed for the moment, as if consciously willing the pain to leave her body. She looks so scared.

"B?" she asks back. It makes me so sad to know that after tonight I'll never hear that one simple letter escape her mouth again. "B? I…I…" She trails off, as if forming those few syllables has drawn all her strength from her.

"I'm right here. I promise," I whisper. She forces her eyes open, their dark brown color penetrating my heart, even as the light in them fades. Her eyes linger on my face, then down to the blood covering her lower half. The wound is hidden under the blood. I can't think about it now. The wound is unimportant. Making her last few moments on Earth as comfortable as possible and making sure she knows I love her takes precedence in my mind.

"Don't look at it Faith, just look at me," I gently tell her, averting her attention back to me. I cup her cheek softly and turn her head to look me directly in the eyes.

"B, it wasn't supposed to be this way, it wasn't…I…we…" she trails off, a tear coming to the corner of her eye. "We were supposed to grow old together," she finishes in the softest voice I've ever heard her use. Softer than when she whispered "I love you's" into my ear after hours of making love, and she was exhausted and on the verge of sleep. I never thought I would hear her speak in a more tired tone then than those nights…those nights that we nearly broke beds and dented walls, and more than a few bed sheets were left in tatters.

"I know. I know how much we wanted to do that. How good a nice retirement home vacation would have been. How sexy you would have looked with gray hair," I end, trying to make her smile.

It works; Faith's lips curl up a fraction. "Yeah, I was really looking forward to seeing you kick ass playing shuffleboard." She closes her eyes tight as another circuit of pain washes over her. I grip her hand a little tighter and stroke her hair off her forehead. Goddess, even in death she's beautiful.

I want to break down right now. My heart is pounding, my limbs are shaking a little, and the tears are ready to burst through, faster than they are already coming out. I have to stay strong for her though. She hates seeing me cry.

"Hey Faith? You'll wait for me over there won't you? On the Other Side?" Her eyes narrow and she looks me straight in the eyes, as if staring into my soul.

"Always yours B. Only yours," she responds, in the strongest voice she can muster.

I can feel her strength diminishing. Her breath is coming in shallow bursts. I wish breathing didn't look so painful for her.

"Buffy, I…I just want to say…I love you so much. You have made me who I am and –"

"Shhh" I try to cut her of, hoping that if she keeps herself from talking she will be in less pain.

"No B. I have to say this," she wheezes out. "You are my life, and I'm glad I got to spend the time I had left here with you. Thank you. Thank you for making me who I am, someone I could live with being, and someone I can die being content with. I love you," she finishes. As she says the last word, her voice breaks and her tears flow. The dam bursts behind my eyes and my tears drip onto her already saturated shirt.

"Faith, don't leave me," I mutter softly. "Don't leave me here with the evil in the world. Take me with you, take me with you so I can be with you forever."

"You have to stay here B. You have to look after little sis and the gang. They need you more than I do. I'll die knowing that you loved me. But you have to keep them from that same fate. Keep them alive. And as long as you're alive, I'll be there in your heart."

"You're so brave," I say proudly, a small smile creeping to my lips. She is; she's dying, and she's courageously letting me go. And here I sit, cowardly and scared. I don't want to be without her.

"And you're perfect," she responds.

"I love you B," she states in the strongest, most unwavering voice she's mustered since the dying began.

My hand firmly around hers, and my other hand cupped around her face, brushing her cheek with my thumb, I lean forward and kiss her gently on the lips. "I love you too," I reply, my face mere centimeters from her lips. "And I always will."

Her eyes start to blink shut, her lips tremble and her body shudders a little bit, the last of the pain making itself known. My tears are spilling all over her front, bouncing off, rolling to the ground. The ground stained with her blood. Blood and tears.

The wind picked up speed, my hair blowing around my face, Faith's wavy hair fanning around her head like an angel. The air around us got colder with wind chill, the trees swaying as unforgiving gusts struck their branches.

Her eyes opened one last time; her hands reach around my head and pull me close. "Never forget", she whispered into my ear. She moved my lips to hers and kissed them, our lips touching one final time.

I pulled away and stared at her face, into her brown beauties. Then they fluttered shut, closed to the world of the living. My hands grasped the side of her face, feeling the last of the warmth leaving her cheeks. Her breath came out once more, and her chest stills.

She stopped breathing.

And the wind stopped blowing.

**AN: Alright, I hope whoever reads this likes it. This was designed to just be a one shot, but if there's anything that anybody wants to know about, or maybe see that could be done, let me know. This might have a couple more chapters in it. You'll just have to review and see :]**


	2. Before the Wind

**BEFORE THE WIND**

"Beautiful night to go slaying isn't it B?"

"If by beautiful you mean slightly rainy with a chance of monsters, then yes." It was Saturday night, slightly after midnight. Normal girls are beginning to drag themselves out to clubs at this time, but I'm out here, slaying the ugly bumpy things the night tends to bring out.

And such is the life of a Slayer.

At least she's here with me, at least I can feel her presence close by, thumping like the steady beat of a bass drum, thrumming in my veins, humming in my heart. That's my girl. That's my Faith.

Faith's strides are long as she paces about the cemetery, looking for something dead to kill. "B, I gotta say, beautiful night and all, yet not seeing many beautiful things to slay."

She was right, the cemetery seemed particularly void of demons tonight. May sound like a good thing, but a lack of things of the monstrous variety to kill troubles me. "Something big's coming," I respond to her. She nods back at me, a little worry evident in her eyes.

The dread hit me full force, a split second after uttering that statement of impending doom.

Something was coming, something big.

"You feel it B? Like something rotting has crawled into your mind?" I did. My mind felt dirty, and no not the naughty kind of dirty, or even the germy kind of dirty. My mind felt evil.

"If by it you mean nasty rotten thoughts permeating my brain then yes," I respond.

"I don't like it," she states, her jaw set firmly.

"There isn't much that you do like Faith," I tease her trying to ease the mood. "But I do have to agree with you on this one.

Faith turns and stares me straight in the eyes. "I like you," she replies. "In fact, I kinda like you a lot." She moves up beside me and grabs me in her arms. "Maybe we should stop by and check with Giles, see if there's any impending doom. Maybe take a detour, like to your bedroom."

Oh goddess, and she teases right back. "Or maybe just skip straight to the detour," I suggest. Oh things are really heating up in this beautiful night.

Faith looks around, scanning the cemetery for any movement. "Or you know, wouldn't want to shirk our duty or anything. Could just get hot 'n' heavy right here. Vampires be damned."

And what an appealing thought that is. I grind my body up closer to Faith's, making sure to graze my hand over that sensitive spot under her arm. Faith shudders beneath my touch, and suddenly the dread and cold feelings leave me. It's just me and her in this world. She's all that matters.

"I love you B," she whispers quietly in my ear. I love hearing her say that. Perhaps my most favorite thing to hear in the whole entire world. Aside from her quiet moans when we are doing the deed.

"Love you too Fai," I whisper back, gently nibbling on her ear lobe as I retract my head.

We pull apart and continue our walk through the cemetery, hand in hand. Just feeling the soft touch of her warm fingers wrapped around my own is enough to send shivers down my spine with every step we take. It's so wonderful to be dating a walking, talking, piece of perfection.

We continue making strides to the center of the cemetery, normally a cesspool of demons and vampires, seeing as it's the farthest from the streets and literally a focal point of the dead. As we approach the monuments in the center of the graveyard, that horrible feeling of a cold slimy icky being made its way back into my head. Faith squeezed my hand in reassurance. She must have felt the trepidation and fear making its way into my head.

It was then that we saw it. A perfectly black robed figure sitting atop a gray stone monument. He was at least a football field length away from us, and he just appeared out of nowhere. Apparating demons are never a good thing.

"What do you think B?" Faith whispered to me, never taking her eyes off the lone outline of something big and scary. "Should we rush it, sneak up on it, or jet?"

She posed a really great question. "Not sure we really have the whole element of surprise thing going for us at this point. And I don't really want to turn my back on this guy. I kinda feel like it would just ensure the entrance of a mortal wound if we lost him in our sight," I tried to reason.

Faith considers what I said and responds. "Suppose your right. Smart girl, knew I wasn't just into you for your ass." Only Faith would joke at a time like this. Which just scares me more. Normally when its slay time, Faith buckles up and takes our power for a ride. The quipping is natural, but she's all serious about her slayage.

She only jokes when she's scared.

"Tell you what," I begin, trying to reassure her. "We get out of this tonight and you can have all the ass you want."

"Ohhh I like the sound of that girlfriend," Faith purrs back at me. "Let's get this guy dead. Count of three?" Faith asks.

"One..."

"…Two"

"…Three!"

With that we rush in on the black cad super creep. We're running as fast as our legs will take us. I let Faith take the lead. We've coordinated this blitz style before; it always works better when she steps up front.

We're nearing the demon, maybe twenty yards off when he spreads his hands and a blast forces itself from the center of his palms.

I can see Faith trying to brace herself for the impact, but it doesn't do her much good. The blast knocks us back hard; it feels like the equivalent of being hit with a wrecking ball, and believe me, it sure did wreck us. Faith took the brunt of the hit, but the force of it lifted her off her feet and into me. We both tumbled to the ground in a heap, a tangled mess of limbs. We unravel ourselves quickly and I turn to see Faith lying on her side, gasping for air.

I chance a look back to the top of the monument, and he's still there.

I rub my hand across Faith's back, trying to get her to calm down. She slowly regains her breath, but her eyes are still closed tight. The demon in black isn't going anywhere, so I help Faith to a sitting up position; my body is protesting as well.

Faith's breaths finally even out, and with a low grunt she raises herself to her feet. We both turn to face the demon again. Faith's features are set and I can see the defiance and strength in her eyes.

We start to walk towards him, trying to emanate power and strength, and not let our fear of his own power show through.

Within seconds we are driven to our knees as the demon stands, raises his hands again, and enters our heads. It starts to try to fill our mind with devastation, dread, and anxiety.

It's working.

_Slayerssss… _It hisses in our heads. _About time you came._ _Allow me to introduce myself_, it says as it walks towards us. We both lift our heads to see what kinda ugly we are taking on.

We could barely see his face, but from what we could see, I know for sure I didn't like, and judging by Faith's gasp, it was safe to say she didn't either. We're slayers, not really the gasping type.

His face was a mottled blue color, with ugly lemon colored pus-filled sores. His teeth were jagged and black, his nose pushed against his face. His eyes were narrow slits, but abyss like slits. That is one ugly bitch.

_I am Eramthgin. And you…you are my puppets._ It suddenly occurred to me what exactly he was. Giles warned me about this kind of demon a few years back. He has the ability to go into anyone's mind and control them. Giles was pretty sure that Slayers were immune to it, but something tells me the wires got crossed in his dusty old books.

This is so not good.

_Ready to play?_ it asked. Chills went up my spine. Faith looked over at me, a distraught look in her eyes. I was right there with her.

With those last words I felt a pull on my mind and a disconnection happened. It felt like his hand was clenched around my mind, my thoughts were his, and his actions were mine.

He turned my head towards Faith, who was standing completely erect, but not moving. She looked so scared.

_She is yours? _he questioned. _Will hurting her hurt you?_

Oh God no.

Faith's eyes went wide as Eramthgin pulled a sword from behind his back. He placed the sword in my hand.

My dread weighed as heavy as the sword. It was a thick metal, about two feet long in length. It was one hell of a sword. I tried desperately to un-pry my fingers from around the handle, but was having no luck on that frontier. Sweat was breaking out on my forehead as I worked my will to release my grip.

_No use Slayer,_ he taunted. _You're going to make her as good as dead._

No. I raised the sword up chest level and aimed it at Faith's chest. No. A primal scream escaped from my throat and I don't know if it was from trying to release him from my mind or from him as his bloodlust grew stronger. Faith closed her eyes. Our bond was pulsating in my veins. I could have almost sworn that I heard her utter a soft "I love you."

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's stabbing. I've been trained to find that special place between bones, through muscles. That special place where the heart lives.

I wish I wasn't so good at it.

I put everything I had into moving the sword and away from her. Away from my angel. The sword jerked back and remained aimed at her chest. In one quick motion, the sword was plunging deep into her chest and out the other side. But I managed to move it just the fraction it needed to stop itself from impaling her in the heart.

Something tells me this was a deathblow anyway.

Her eyes opened wide, shock setting into her system. I cried inside. I could hear the demon laughing, relishing in his deed.

I dropped the sword. **I dropped the sword.** I dropped it. Not him. In another swift movement I whipped the sword around and cleaved the head off of Eramthgin. A breeze picked up and whipped my hair all over my face.

Another demon dead.

Faith dropped to her knees.

I lurched forward to catch her before she fell face first to the ground. I cradled her in my arms and gently held her against me.

I killed her.

I killed my Faith.

**AN: Alright, so it looks like this thing does have a couple of chapters left in it :] I have decided to give it a before, and if people care enough, I'm pretty sure I could write an after. If there was an after, I'm curious to know what direction you guys think I should take. I have something in mind already, but this could be interesting :] **

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Wind Will Blow Again

**THE WIND WILL BLOW AGAIN**

"Ugh B, you just going to sleep the day away?" I hear as I slowly open my eyes. I enter the land of consciousness feeling the weight of an arm slung over my stomach. I can feel the soft fingers playing with my hair.

"Morning to you too Faith," I respond, smiling as I feel her fingers brush some hair away from my forehead. Goddess how I love this, waking up in my big comfy bed, Mr. Gordo on one side and the love of my life on the other.

I turn my head to the side and see my brunette counterpart grinning down at me, her hair a little messy from the night before. She opens her mouth, her full red lips giving way to her sleep-husky voice.

"You are so cute when you snore B."

I open my mouth to protest. "I don't snore! I am not a snorer! Snorer is not me! Ask anyone! I dunno…ask Angel!"

She smirks at me. "Already did. He confirms it. I asked him after the first night we spent together. Had to make sure it wasn't some creepy bed demon."

I swat her playfully on the hand she had wrapped around my side. "The only bed demon here is your morning breath."

Faith opens her mouth, feigning shock. "You know I would believe you if I hadn't already gotten up and brushed my teeth in anticipation of morning smoochies." She grins at me, flashing her white, bacteria free teeth.

"You anticipated smoochies? Even with me in my yummy sushi pajamas? Gosh you must really love me."

"Always and forever B. Haven't I proved myself enough with my ability to sleep through your snoring and the way that I allow you to sleep the day away when I would much rather be ravaging you the second I wake up?"

I smile big. "I suppose you have. Now what's this about ravaging?" I ask innocently

She taps her finger to the side of her head. "Well…I was thinking maybe a few …" she kisses the side of my neck. "And maybe a bit of…" her mouth travels to my pulse point where she sucks it quickly before her hot breath makes its way down to my shoulder. I feel my pulse speeding up and goose bumps make themselves known.

I turn my head so that I'm kissing her neck too, and soon enough, we are both giving big wet kisses up and down each other's neck. Faith cups me behind my head and pulls my forehead close to her own.

"I love you B," she says. Even after hearing her say it as much as she does, my heart speeds up and a feeling of overwhelming warmth and happiness spreads across my body.

"Love you too Faith."

Our foreheads press against each other, and I close my eyes, savoring the feel of the closeness. This feeling of complete correctness.

As soon as I open my eyes, she's gone.

* * *

The funeral was short and sweet. Everyone cried.

After Faith was released from prison and had come back to Sunnydale to help fight the baddies, she was able to form a real bond with all of us again. Those that she had wronged in the past were willing to forgive. It took some time, but it happened.

I will never forget the look in Dawn's eyes as Faith was lowered into the ground. When Faith returned, Dawn was more than ecstatic to have her back. Seems the monks implanted some good memories in both of their heads. So when Faith was buried, Dawn didn't just have tears in her eyes. She had rivers flowing down her cheeks.

My mouth was dry, my palms hurt where my nails were digging half-moon trenches into my hand. But more than anything, my heart hurt.

* * *

That night, I had to go back to the cemetery with Giles. Faith's grave needed to be consecrated so that nobody would dig up her…her bones. I was a little nervous leaving Dawn at home, but Willow said she would stay with her until I got back.

When we reached her grave, my breath hitched in my throat, and a sob threatened to force its way out. Giles grabbed my arm and held me close.

Without a word the dam burst and the tears flowed down my face, splotching Giles' jacket. He rubbed small circles into my back without making a sound, knowing that I didn't want to talk.

Grief speaks for itself.

When the tears finally abated, we begin the consecrating ritual. I lose myself in my thoughts.

"_Woo B, that stuff is downright stanky!" I hear Faith say._

_I chuckle. "Faith, it's just holy water. Main ingredient being water. Are you sure you aren't smelling yourself?" I tease._

_Faith mimics shock. "Oh you know me B, the smell of something holy gives me the wiggins. Reminds me of Boston as a kid and my mom's boyfriends were drunkenly calling me a whore and reciting Bible stuff"_

_I rub her shoulder, reassuringly. "I bet it also makes you think of wrestling alligators naked huh?"_

"_Maybe not alligators, but I'd definitely love to wrestle you naked," she replies, winking and slapping my butt._

The ritual is over. Faith's grave is safe for now. Doesn't mean I won't be protecting it as much as nightly patrol will let me. Giles and I walk back to his car in silence. When we get there, he places his materials in the back seat and climbs into the car next to me. In a few minutes we're driving down the street back to my house.

The ride is quiet. I stare out the window, looking at the passing structures, but not really seeing anything. All I can visualize is her face. The way she could light up the deepest corners of hell with her dimpled smile. The way her eyes possessed more soul than an Orb of Thesulah. And the way her face lit up every time she saw me. She loved me, and for that I can never thank the Powers that Be enough.

Before I know it, we're back at my house. Giles grabs my hand.

"Buffy, if you need anything…" he says in a quiet voice.

"I know Giles. Thanks."

I step out of the car and briskly move up the sidewalk to my house. I'm hoping Dawn will be asleep. I don't know if I can stand that look on her face tonight. Opening the door, I give the place a once over, checking for any apparent disturbances. Some habits never die.

I walk into the foyer and over to the couch where I see Dawn huddled up on the couch, snoozing. Willow is curled up in the armchair, reading a book, and absentmindedly stroking Dawn's hair. When she sees me, she places a marker in her book and stands up. She offers a small smile in my direction, and I hug her in return.

"Thank you for watching her," I whisper.

She looks me in the eyes. "Whatever you need," she replies sincerely. Squeezing my hand, she picks up her bag and car keys and makes her way to the door. "Good night," she mouths.

I wave to her and turn back to Dawn, hearing the door click shut and the tapping of her retreating shoes. Trying my best not to wake Dawn up, I gently place my arms underneath her body and lift her. She stirs, but doesn't wake. I carry her up the stairs to her room, and carefully deposit her on her bed. Lifting the covers over her body, Dawn snuggles deep into her sheets. I glance at her as I exit her room, and as I leave I see her smile. As I close the door over, I hear her soft, comforted voice whisper, "Faith".

As I make my way back to my room, I brace myself on the wall. I can smell her. That cinnamon vanilla smell that seemed to always accompany Faith. It's so strong and overpowering; I can't help but feel like she's actually standing right next to me. I enter my room, hoping beyond hopes that this whole ordeal was just a dream and I'm going to walk in on my girlfriend sitting up in bed, flipping through one of Xander's comics, waiting for me to join her.

But she's not there. And she won't be again.

I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

The days following Faith's funeral were hard. I honestly don't know how I made it through the week. Dawn and I stayed in most of the time, huddled together on the couch, or in my room, napping, though neither of us would sleep on Faith's side of the bed.

Most of the time Dawn would be waiting for me when I got back from patrol. She would look up at me from the couch, teary-eyed. We would go to her room together and I would tell her stories of Faith and I. All the PG ones of course.

"_B, look out!" Faith yelled in my direction. I looked up just in time to see a clump of goo flying at me. I dodged it and joined her in pummeling the Ollej demon. Our fists just kept sinking in, never really doing any damage. This was just gross._

"_You know Faith, if I wanted to swim in a jello pool with you, I don't think I would have chosen to do it this way."_

"Know whatcha mean B, this goo is making my leathers chafe," she complains, followed by a grunt of annoyance. "Hey did the G-man ever say anything about this guy?"

_I give her an apologetic glance as I answer her. "Er…yeah. But I think I was somewhere in the land of not paying attention."_

"_Oh B, always the perfect little student," Faith grumbles._

"_Don't rub it in," I reply, jutting my lip out to make her feel bad._

"_Don't rub what in?" Faith asks, innocently. "This?" Before I know it, Faith's tackled me and we're flying through the demon. I feel my back hit something solid, and I wonder if it's the demon's heart. My question is answered as we burst out the other side, effectively drenched in goo. The monster itself collapses into a giant puddle, which slowly starts being absorbed by the earth._

"_Oh gross! Gross gross gross!" I whine. I look up to see Faith smiling at me. "You are so dead!"_

"_What can I say B, you should have done your homework." She raises herself to her feet and holds her slimy hand out to me. "Whaddya say we high-tail it home and take care of this triple H I got goin' on."_

_I grab a hold of her hand and pull myself up. "Triple H?" I question._

"_Hungry, horny, and in need of a hot bath," she smirks as she replies._

Dawn giggles. It's a good thing I left out the part where we took care of all three of those.

"Night Dawnie," I say and kiss her forehead, like I had seen Faith do so many times herself.

"Buffy?" Dawn calls out to me as I reach her doorway. "Do you think she's with mom?"

I sigh and contemplate her question briefly. "I do. I'm sure they're up there waiting for us to make a fool of ourselves so they can have a good laugh."

Dawn closes her eyes and nods. "I hope they saw you drool on yourself the other day."

I smile. "I bet they did."

* * *

Patrolling last night was uneventful. I'm hoping to get some action tonight, to compensate for the lack of beating dead things in the face I seem to be having. I'm walking along the outskirts of a cemetery and I see a pack of three vampires making their way towards the center of the graveyard. They seem to be walking towards… towards Faith's grave. Oh hell no.

I sprint towards them, pulling out my stake as I near. I see them turn towards me in surprise and get into a fighting stance. I jump up onto a crypt and run across the marble stone surface. When I reach the edge, I jump off the side and fling my body on top of the nearest vampire. My arm thrusts out and strikes the vampire right where his undead heart lives. Poof.

The other two vampires attack me at the same time. Seems that they are a little smarter than the average demon and know not to take turns. One vampire throws a right hook that I block with my forearm. I throw my thigh out and parry the other vampires kick that was aimed at my stomach. My fists fly out. I catch the first vampire in the face and smile when I hear his bones crunch. The second vampire takes it in his mouth; I can feel his fang bite into my hand and draw a thin line of blood across its back.

I jump kick him and he goes down hard. The other vampire advances and I let loose a flurry of combinations, beating in his corpse-like flesh. I fight the urge to say something witty; my determination to let loose my anger gets the best of me. There will be no quipping tonight.

With each punch, my rage is increasing. "Why!" I shout. "Why did you have to take her from me!?" I scream, as I continue beating the vampire to a bloody pulp. "I love her!" I yell and ferociously rip his head from his shoulders, rendering him to a pile of dust.

I start to rise from the ground only to be tackled from behind by the second vampire. He brought me back to the ground and pinned me there. I tried to struggle to loose myself from his grip, but thoughts started creeping into my head. What if I just let him kill me? Then I could be with her…

As if on cue, an outline began to form behind the vampire currently strangling me. As the edges of my vision began to get blurry, she got clearer. It was her.

She opened her mouth. "Hey B, don't be giving up now, gotta take care of Lil' Sis."

"_But I just want to be with you",_ I say in my mind, since talking is currently not an option.

"I know, but the time for that will come. Remember the first rule of slaying? Don't die," she breathes out.

"_But you broke that rule Faith. And now I'm alone."_

"B, you'll never be alone. You got your family and your friends, and they love you. And hey, remember? I'm in your heart. Always."

My vision is swimming in and out. I don't have much time.

"So you choose to carry on B. And I'll be right there carrying on with you." She pauses. "Hey and wasn't it some hot blonde that once said 'the hardest thing in the world is to live in it?' So live on Buffy, live, for me."

"_Faith…"_

"When I say go, you get up and live, B." She turns toward the vampire throttling me. "Hey asswipe! Get off my girlfriend!" she hollers. And before I can even comprehend what is happening, I hear a shouted "Go!" and the vampire gets thrown off of me. I spring to me feet, barely certain of what way is up, and blindly thrust my stake into the heart of the vampire. Slayer instincts are the best.

He goes up in a cloud of vampy remains. And as the dust settles, she disappears.

* * *

I'm lying in my bed thinking of her. It doesn't take me long to fall asleep.

_We're sitting on top of a mausoleum in the middle of the cemetery. In the distance I can see her grave, standing out against the pale complexion of the moon. Our hands our intertwined and we're leaning in close to each other, my head resting on her shoulder. Her hair tickles my forehead, and I can smell that cinnamon vanilla smell that means Faith is close._

"_Gunna be a rough ride for a little bit, B," she husks into my ear. "But you and Little D are gunna make it through it. You always do."_

_Her voice is deep and reverberates throughout my being. It feels so good to hear her talk._

_I nestle my head further into the crook of her neck. "The Gang is helping us out. We all miss you Faith."_

_She laughs lightly. "Why wouldn't they B? What's not to miss, I'm freakin' adorable."_

_I chuckle in response. "I dunno maybe that overwhelming arrogance of yours?"_

"Aww c'mon B, you know you guys love that part the most. If I didn't have that arrogance, I wouldn't sway my hips so much. Then what would you stare at every time you watch me walk ?"

_I pinch her side._

"_Hey! Alright, alright. I'll tone the arrogance down in my afterlife."_

_I turn her face towards mine. "Faith, I'm not entirely sure that's possible."_

"_Man, B, you really do know me," she says as she kisses my forehead._

_I'm silent for a moment as I relish in the lingering feel of her lips on my skin. "I miss you Faith."_

_She looks me in the eyes and smiles reassuringly. "I know Buffy, but everything's gunna be five by five."_

"_I love you."_

"_And I love you," she says, sincerity emanating out of her sultry voice. "No more suicidal Buffy thoughts ok?"_

"_You got it, F."_

"_Good. That's the girl I know and love." She starts fading away again. Crap! I don't want this dream to end. "'Til next time B." She kisses me on the lips and I wake up._

Dawn is staring down at me. "My god Buffy! Snore any louder and you'll be sure to wake up all the dead things within a twenty mile radius!" Ok, I guess she wasn't kidding. Seems I do have a snoring issue.

"Sorry Dawn. Deep sleep means deep breathing."

Dawn raises her eyebrows at me accusingly. "Which I guess means super-deep snoring."

I smile up at her. "I swear you are becoming more like Faith every day. Good thing you aren't too much like her otherwise I'm stopping this sentence before I gross myself out."

Dawn scowls and plops herself down on my bed. Eventually, she maneuvers her body towards mine and grabs my hand.

"We're going to be ok, right Buffy?" she asks, a pleading tone in her voice.

I smile at her and run my hand through her hair. "You know what Dawn? We're going to be five by five."

And I know that I'm speaking the truth. Things will be ok because Faith said they would be. And because deep down, I know that they have to be.

The wind may have stopped blowing when I lost my other half, but I know that the wind will blow again.


End file.
